Angola to Hold Debut Diamond Auction as Economy Opens Up

Henrique Almeida, Bloomberg News

(Bloomberg) -- Angola will conduct its first diamond auction in January as part of the southwest African country’s plan to open its economy to foreign investors, state-owned diamond-trading company Sodiam said.

Seven gemstones from the Lulo mine, located in the northeast, will come under the hammer, Sodiam said in an emailed statement Monday. They include a 114-carat stone and a pink, 46-carat gem. Several international buyers will be invited to the sale, which will be held at the company’s headquarters in the capital, Luanda. Sodiam didn’t give a date for the auction.

Click here to read about Angola allowing miners to sell their own gems

Angola is the world’s fifth-biggest diamond producer in terms of value, according to Sodiam.

To contact the reporter on this story: Henrique Almeida in Lisbon at halmeida5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joao Lima at jlima1@bloomberg.net, Hilton Shone, Renee Bonorchis